By James Matthews
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
jmatthews@fortfrances.com
Fort Frances council will work with Agency One to meet municipal storage needs until a solution can be decided during next year’s budget discussions.
Travis Rob, the town’s operation and facilities manager, said the only heated storage currently available is the garage that houses snow removal equipment during the winter months.
“So it’s always ready for service if snow happens,” he said.
And there are small spaces for storage in garages at the Fort Frances Cemetery and the Riverview Cemetery.
“Everything else we have is unheated,” Rob said.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot,” Councillor Kaleb Firth said. “Is there a need for more?”
“If ever you get a chance in the middle of winter to come and try to walk through Public Works, I encourage you to do so,” Rob said.
“Especially if I turn the lights off.”
“The short answer was yes,” mayor Andrew Hallikas said.
Coun. Wendy Brunetta said such an expenditure shouldn’t be considered in the middle of the year. Rather, it should be some considered when staff determines departmental spending priorities and council makes efforts to ink the 2026 municipal capital and operating budget.
“Our staff have been going digging things out of the snowbanks for years,” she said.
“I appreciate that’s not the idea situation and I definitely understand that there is a need for more storage.”
But Brunetta said she doesn’t think Agency One will insist on the immediate removal of municipal equipment from Point Park. She asked that the request be deferred until the budgeting process in January.
Agency One was recently adjudged to be owners of Point Park in litigation brought by the municipality to Superior Court. That led to questions about town equipment stored at the park.
Council was given four options on how to address the growing storage challenges.
The first was to allocate $100,000 to build an unheated weather-protected storage facility on existing municipal land. That facility would be designed to accommodate the Fort Frances Downtown BIA Christmas tree and materials and equipment currently inadequately stored in the Operations and Facilities yard.
According to a report to council: “This option would address the most immediate storage needs while remaining relatively low in cost and impact. However, it would not provide heated space for sensitive materials or improve working conditions during winter months.”
Deputy Mayor Michael Behan characterized that option as merely a Band-aid short-term solution.
The second option was to have the town continue to rely on existing outdoor and limited covered storage. This would leave the BIA Christmas tree without a secure storage location and may require the town to explore costly commercial storage solutions. Operational inefficiencies during peak and winter periods would also persist.
Another option expanded on the first suggestion by including heating, a concrete slab, improving working conditions and providing protection for temperature-sensitive materials and equipment. Estimated to cost $275,000 to $325,000, it would enhance operational efficiency year-round and reduce long-term wear on stored assets.
“Is Option 3 a need or a want?” Behan said.
“Because if I’m going to allocate $100,000, I’d rather see it go towards No. 3.”
An Option 4 was for the town to build a new operations and facilities complex that could cost as much as $8 million. It would include offices, drive-through garage bays, a wash bay for vehicle maintenance, and it would be big enough for 20 staff members.
Coun. Steven Maki said the information item provided to councillors initially broaches the question of where to store the BIA Christmas tree. Then the suggested option of $8 million comes out of nowhere.
“It went from $100,000 to $8 million,” he said.
“I sprouted hair, for crying out loud.”
Maki, who attended last Monday’s meeting with his usual hairless head, said he would favour Option 3 and wait until budget discussions to consider any expenditure.
Marcel Michaels, the town’s CAO, said spending $100,000 is not a Band-aid solution.
“We will survive for year,” he said.
“This will help us. This gives us the extra space. It’s the least tax impact. We’ll make it work.”
If storage isn’t an immediate need, Behan suggested the town work out an agreement with Agency One and then allocation money for storage construction in next year’s capital budget.
